TEACHING should not be considered as a profession because not enough training is given to those who go into it, a Bolton-born education expert claims.

Journalist Phil Revell, who writes regularly in the national press, has caused outrage among many teachers by saying their job cannot compare to "real" professions such as medicine and the law because it has a shorter qualification route.

Mr Revell, who was a teacher for 19 years, was born in Bolton and taught in London, Essex and Shropshire.

He said: "Teachers can become qualified in less than a year. In today's schools that isn't enough.

"There is simply not enough time to cover all the things that teachers need to know and a lot of the difficulties faced by teachers in today's schools can be put down to the fast track qualification process that teachers go through."

His comments come as his new book "Professionals" is released.

Martin Fisher, a regional officer with the National Union of Teachers in Bolton, said: "I think teachers will feel affronted by some of these comments, but we agree that teachers need more training and this is something we disagree with the Government about."